I Know My Girl–Surgery for a Child with PTSD.

All photos on this blog are courtesy of a Nikon D3100 camera that has been provided for the FullPlateFamily in exchange for photo credits and user reviews of accessories. I have always used a Nikon camera, but never properly. Thanks to some really great upgrades and proper instruction, my pictures are so much more crisp and I can capture my baby’s faces so much better, before they are no longer babies. You can now follow FullPlateMom on Instagram!!! Last week our little Giggles had some very minor surgery. She approached the idea of surgery the same ways she approaches everything in life, with a big old unsuspecting smile on her face.

I prepared her. Her therapist prepared her. She wasn’t prepared. She woke up incredibly sad. She was scared, I could tell. She kept yelling about how much it “hurt.” Oh man. We had talked about this. And talked about this. And talked about this. The nurse was so kind, and so sad for our girl, she wanted her to stop hurting. She kept giving her pain meds until she was calm, and totally snowed. After it had been a good while in the recovery room, she started to wake again, and promptly told me how much it “hurt.” The nurse went to get more pain meds, telling me that Giggles blood pressure indicated she was in pain. Giggles is tough as nails. Her high blood pressure indicated she was scared. When the nurse left the room, Giggles and I began to deep breathe together. We did guided imagery. We imagined Disney World, and the beach, and the princesses she loves so much. Then we did a little foot massage. By the time the pain meds came, Giggles had it under control. She was calm, centered and ready to eat a popsicle. I couldn’t be more proud of my brave, brave girl. For those mamas whose child from a hard place is facing surgery, trust your gut. You know your baby better than anyone. This is Giggles just two short hours later, tucked in her own pinker than pink room happily watching movies.